The on topic thread

[moomba]

It's a tough one for Liverpool. Get a genuine no.1 striker and Sturridge becomes an expensive option to be sat on the bench.

But go for more of a back up, and you're stuck with him when Sturridge gets injured again.

I reckon they'll go for more of an AM that can play along the front 3 than a traditional goal scorer.

 

[jod23]

There goes another season for Liverpool.

Always 16/17 I guess.

Apparently Ings is a done deal so im expecting the title.

 

[BlueBen]

I'm expecting both of Berahino and Ings, they are both such typical Liverpool signings.

 

[Shoei]

Great article by Carragher with his thoughts on Messi - the greatest club footballer of all time:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3074067/Lionel-Messi-simply-greatest-club-player-time-outstripped-Alfredo-di-Stefano-Johan-Cruyff-Franz-Beckenbauer-Diego-Maradona.html

Poor article. He doesn't make any relevant points.

He mentions Di Stefano, Cryuff and Beckenbauer - But gives no reasoning as to why anything Messi has done at club level is better than what they have achieved.

He says:
Di Stefano - 5 European Cup wins - Scored in 5 finals
Cryuff - Hat-trick with Ajax
Beckenbauer - Hat-trick with Bayern

So what makes Messi's achievements with Barcelona better?


"I understand the game is now not as physical as it used to be in the days of Maradona and Cruyff but they never had to endure the scrutiny and exposure that comes with today’s game, the constant analysis of performances and the pressure to produce results, which Messi has to deal with"

So being kicked off the park each game in eras where there was very little protection for players and your career could be ended instantly "fairly" is the same as having media scrutiny? **** off.

"Some will argue, though, that Maradona — another former Barcelona player — stands alone because of his exploits during the seven years he spent at Napoli between 1984 and 1991, when it is often said he took them to two Serie A titles single-handedly.

That wasn’t the case. Maradona was a wizard and, without him, Napoli would not have had that golden era. But he was never Serie A’s top scorer when they won the Scudetto. In 1987, he got 10; in 1990, his tally of 16 was beaten by Marco van Basten and Roberto Baggio.

He was also aided by a raft of Italy internationals, notably the outstanding defender Ciro Ferrara, plus a high-class Brazilian midfielder in Alemao. By 1990, another Brazilian — Careca — was part of the forward line. In both their title-winning campaigns, Napoli's defensive record was outstanding, especially in 1987 when they only conceded 21 goals in 30 games."

So Barcelona hasn't been loaded with multi-million euro signings and international players during the whole of Messi's career? Sorry you cant use it to discount one player and leave it when talking about Messi.

 

[ADL9798]

It's a tough one for Liverpool. Get a genuine no.1 striker and Sturridge becomes an expensive option to be sat on the bench.

But go for more of a back up, and you're stuck with him when Sturridge gets injured again.

I reckon they'll go for more of an AM that can play along the front 3 than a traditional goal scorer.

Yeah and I think that concern is reflected in the type of forwards we're looking at. Lacazette, Vietto & Berahino are all versatile enough to play as either lone front men or in tandem with another forward. It's one of the main reasons why I don't think someone like a Benteke would be a good fit for us.

 

[moomba]

So who from Burnley will be in the premier league next season?

I'd say Trippier, Ings, maybe Boyd, maybe Heaton.

 

[SM]

You reckon that much? I was thinking 10-15 but I guess you could be right. I don't think we'll be chasing strikers anyway but he'd be a great addition for any club.

Like Cruyff said, English tax I think will push his value up. Plus a bit of a bidding war.

 

[SM]

So who from Burnley will be in the premier league next season?

I'd say Trippier, Ings, maybe Boyd, maybe Heaton.

Boyd is an interesting one. Wasn't getting on our bench half the time but has started every game just about for Burnley and has a lot of talent. I have a lot of time for him and love the way he goes about it with his work rate, but I'd be a bit surprised if a PL team takes a punt on him, he'd want a fair bit of playing time, but someone like Bournemouth may come in.

 

[SM]

Geeze, Atletico-Levante on nice and early tonight, not bad.

 

[SM]

Giggs asking LVG to field youngsters against us. At least that wouldn't make the job more difficult.

 

[Zidane98]

Giggs asking LVG to field youngsters against us. At least that wouldn't make the job more difficult.

You're owed a couple of favours by them, that's for sure.

 

[SM]

You're owed a couple of favours by them, that's for sure.

Louis van Bendover?

 

[moomba]

Giggs asking LVG to field youngsters against us. At least that wouldn't make the job more difficult.

I'd imagine they'd have nothing to play for by then so youngsters is a possibility.

 

[SM]

I'd imagine they'd have nothing to play for by then so youngsters is a possibility.

Giggs asking him to doesn't mean he while though, but we'll see. We played them final day 08/09, they played youngsters, and we still lost! And Bruce wasn't even manager!

 

[Stan_Darsh72]

You lost to us last year with a youngish side too.

 

[moomba]

So the race for this years Golden Glove stands like this:

13 - Forster, Mignolet, Hart
12 - Courtois, Fabianski
10 - De Gea

2 games left for everyone bar Fabianski who has 3. Forster won't play again this season so he's stuck on 13.

 

[jod23]

Migs in with a shout. Who have City got in their final two games. I think we have Palace and Stoke. Could keep them scoreless.

 

[moomba]

We've got Swansea away and Southampton home.

 

[SM]

You lost to us last year with a youngish side too.

We played a second string side too.

 

[Jatz]

Interesting crowd figures there. Sunderland in 6th is massive.

Happy with 12th. 31k on average is massive for us.

 

[Fryer Tuck]

View attachment 132963

Interesting crowd figures there. Sunderland in 6th is massive.

Happy with 12th. 31k on average is massive for us.

Can we please get that as a % of ground capacity? Absolute numbers are not enough to tell the whole story. (Let's not forget that season ticket holders are counted towards attendance numbers!)

Because I think you'll find that Sunderland figure is actually rather disappointing.

 

[Shoei]

Arsenal should crack 1 million with 3 home games left.

Newcastle are amazing considering how bad they have been + boycotts

 

[Jatz]

Can we please get that as a % of ground capacity? Absolute numbers are not enough to tell the whole story. (Let's not forget that season ticket holders are counted towards attendance numbers!)

Because I think you'll find that Sunderland figure is actually rather disappointing.

I'm sure you could somewhere

 

[SM]

View attachment 132963

Interesting crowd figures there. Sunderland in 6th is massive.

Happy with 12th. 31k on average is massive for us.

That's great reading for us, selling out virtually every week. Capacity is a smidgen over 25k, so I reckon that average would reflect maybe 500 empty home seats and a bit under 1,000 empty away seats a game, which isn't bad.

 

[SM]

Can we please get that as a % of ground capacity? Absolute numbers are not enough to tell the whole story. (Let's not forget that season ticket holders are counted towards attendance numbers!)

Because I think you'll find that Sunderland figure is actually rather disappointing.

Yeah, was my point a while back that comparing crowd sizes between teams with different capacities is useless without actually looking at how close they get to sell-outs.